This patent application is a continuation in part of my provisional patent application entitled "METHOD OF AUTHENTICATING NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS". The subject invention relates to the process of authenticating negotiable instruments in order to detect potential forgery of check, as in the case of the parent application of this patent application. In this latter respect, the issuance, execution, and negotiation of negotiable instruments is frequently susceptible to fraud. One of the prevalent types of fraud is forgery of the signature on a negotiable instrument with the resultant losses to individuals, merchants or other parties.
One has limited abilities to detect the forgery of a negotiable instrument, and additional means are needed to improve the validation of signatures and other negotiation processes when a negotiable instrument is presented. This need for authentication is important to the merchant or individual who accepts a check or negotiable instrument, just as much as it is important to the bank or the institution on which it is drawn.
The conventional and existing procedures used for financial institutions for detecting a false or forged signature on a negotiable instrument is by visual inspection of the signature on the instrument. This is accomplished in a banking institution, for example, when the check is processed by a visual scanning to ascertain its authenticity. This latter process is time consuming and not fully effective, and while there is some electronic scanning of signatures in this regard, there is not sufficient means available to accurately detect the accuracy of the signature, and this relative inefficiency of existing authentication processes results in higher check processing costs to banks and the public at large. It also results in a significant number of forged instruments being undetected, since the authenticity of a handwritten signature is not fully detectible to an electronic scanner.
As stated, there are some automated processes for improving the detection of forgery on checks and similar negotiable instruments, however, none have proven to be highly effective and efficient. Consequently, the subdect invention is conceived as a method and process to improve on and supplement such authentication procedures, and the following objects of the subject invention are directed accordingly.